Composite fire door



2 l; 1 N l 0 l 1 4 s 1/ m. a w w Ma Y 6 .1 L BL 5 ,f m 1 .T 1FL n a D 4 n WE J A 1 T. u, Tm da n bha/o n n l n ME J Y y m B z 3 /4 Z IIE Z M 2 April l5, 1952 Patented Apr. 15, 1952k @UNITED `s TATl-:s .PATENT oasi 2,593,050 COMPOSITE FIltEzDQOR Hubert W. vPaul and EverettC. `Shuman,f"1oledo,

Ohio, assgnors to Owens-Illinois T-Gflass Coinpanyfacorporaton ofhio i Application J anualyl, 195g, l11 Claims. (GLM-4:35)

Our invention "relates to w building construction units ,and yparticularly -to ran improved type of door, panel,l orsimilar structure.`

:An object of the invention is to provide a structural unit such as a door or Ipanel which-is practically reproof, being highly resistant to `the destructiveaction of ilre and extremely yhigh temperatures. The unit is composed of a plurality of different rnaterialseachY of which contributes `'to "the lire resistance characteristics of "the unitpas `Aa Whole.

Afurther"object`of the invention is to provide a structural unit Hof -the character indicated which ismhighly `resistant to leakage Yor the passage therethrough of 4'hot air, smoke Vorv `hot gases when bending orvvarpage of the unit is caused by exposure to Vvery-highA temperatures; particularly to extreme'heat concentrated. on one side thereof, as in case of fire.

Afurther objectof the invention is -to yprovide la yfireproof or frs-resistant unit composed of materials y which are Very light Weight andhighly resistant `to heat and to the transmission thereof Vor YleakageV therethrough of hot airvor gases when subjected -to one sided `pressure -of such gases.

-A `further object of lthe invention Vis `to pro- Yvide a door, `panel or structural unit which is surfacing material 4has been applied;

"-Fig.'4 is a lsectional view off the upper portion of the unit Vtaken -on the line '4 4 `on Figu; Fig is afragnientary face view of :the-unit in `which the core sections are made of equal widths; Fig. Gis a fragmentary cross-sectional View showing ladjoining core sections `with `ilat .buttjoined heat surfaces with parts warped by heat;

is -a similarviewof our preferred con- Astruation'wliereixi the adioiningedgeffaces of s2 n the core sections are i'nterlociedfby tongue and groove construction. This application `is a continuationein-part of our copending application Ser. No.-55,544,' 4lecl October 20, 1948, titled Composite FireDoors Referring'particularly to Fig. 3, the door unit is vmade up of a plurality of articulated-core vsections i0 and VH Ymounted within `a iframe.

of the structure. 'Thesections l0 -`and `lil may extend at'any desired angle relativeto the'si'des of lthe -unit orlfraine, but in the 'preferredmform as shown, are at right anglesthereto;

The core' sections may comprise several :sections tb, Mb, -extendinglacross the Width of lthedoor assho'wn infFig's. Bland/4. Thayertical adjoining ledge faces of the sectionssinclude engaging tongues Aand grooves 15a, Ita lin the same manner as the horizontal abutting iedge faces.

By making the Icore ofthe door or `panel 4of a number ofarticulatedsections "I0 and Il,"1'the unit is permitted to yield'underthe@influence` of successive and non-uniformly=applied\.heat, without the unit cracking,breaking Vor permit- --ting' the passage Aof hot airor' gases.` .The adjoining edges of the sections i0 andllxprovide lines `of AWeakness .permitting expanding, bending, orWarping of Vthe'unitasa whole without the liability of cracking .open` or breaking.

In addition, the over-all lwarpage-of the :unit ismuc-h less than yif` it vwere i `made Min, one :solid piece. Thisf-isdueto therfreedom ofeach ofthe individual sections to warp Vor1 bend individually of `the others under: the action of` heat asihereinafter described. Thus;` the extreme corners of the `unit will be rnore nearlyv in the orig-ial plane after exposure 'gto Ahigh temperatures 'for a long-period of timethanfif the unit-'Werelmade in onepiece.

The tongue vand groove constructionsprovides a much more effective and reliable. sealxibetiveen the adjoining edges ofthe core; sections,;than

a. structure such as shown in Fig. 6 wherein the edge surfaces I1 are plane surfaces making a flat butt joint. A slight clearance may be provided between the tongues and grooves as shown in Fig. 4 thereby avoiding any danger of breakage. If warpage or bending occurs, the adjoining surfaces, as shown at I8 in Fig. 7, will provide a close joint thereby preventing leakage. When such warpage is excessive, a certain amount of crumbling of the surfaces of the tongues and grooves may take place. This spalling is without detriment to the structure which still maintains a substantially air-tight, gas-proof joint. Some of the sections of the core or body. viz., the sections II, are made narrow to permit a comparatively large number to be used thereby increasing the permissible extent of warpage or bending under excessive heat and at the same time decreasing the over-all warpage of the unit as a whole.

Fig. shows a modification in which the core is made up of sections I Ia all of substantially the same width.

. The core or body of the panel consists of a light-weight, fire-proof material, preferably hydrous calcium silicate with a spiculated asbestos fiber binder. Such a material is now on the market under the trade name Kaylo and is disclosed in the patent of Lewis H. D. Fraser, No. 2,469,379, entitled Heat Insulating Materials and Method of Making, issued May 10, 1949.

The frame I2, I3 may consist of wood or other material which will react, when exposed to high temperatures, in the manner presently described. If wood is used, it should be treated with a fireproofing agent such, for example, as the material now on the market under the trade name Protexol.

A veneer or laminate is adhered to the major faces of the door or panel. The veneer or laminate may consist of any organic or inorganic material which can be adhered to the core of the door and which itself is not necessarily capable of withstanding prolonged exposure to high temperatures andY flame. Such materials as wood, which is burned away; glass or ceramics which are broken away; and aluminum or copper which are melted away by the action of high temperature and flames may be used as the veneer for the panel.

In assembling the door or the panel shown in Fig. 1, the body or core I0 and II and the frame parts I2, I3 are adhered together by a layer of glue or adhesive material I9 covering all of the adjoining surfaces of the frame and core. Pressure and heat are then applied to a degree and for a suicient length of time to eliminate the Water content of the adhesive and/or set the adhesive. Thereafter, the sheets of veneer 2l are applied to the face of the panel or door. This veneer may be applied to both front and rear faces of the panel or door. A second or nishing veneer 22 may be applied over the veneer 2l. The veneers are securely held in place by an adhesive, and heat and pressure are applied to set the adhesive. There is thus provided an integral composite unit forming a door or panel which is extremely light in weight, has high resistance to fire and high temperatures and which effectively prevents transmission of hot air or gases such as it may be subjected to in case of fire. The veneering gives ai decorative finish to the exposed faces of the article.

When the door or unit is subjected to very high temperatures. as in case of a fire, the veneer on the exposed face is disintegrated or destroyed, being burned, broken or melted away, dependent upon the material of which it is composed, and the flame then impinges directly against the core material. As action of the high temperature and flames continues, the restricting or binding action of the frame members I2 and I3 on the sections II) and I l is soon lost since the adhesive between the frame members and the sections progressively loses its effectiveness and the frame members may -be charred upon being subjected to high temperatures for a period of time. However, the veneer and adhesive on the other side of the door are not aiected by the flame and high temperatures due to the highly efficient re resistance of the core material. Thus, after the door is subjected to the flame and high temperatures for a period of time, the sections are no longer restricted along the/sides by the frame members and are held together by adhesive action to the veneer on the unexposed face.

After prolonged exposure to the flames, the individual sections I0 and II will begin to warp, resulting in over-all warpage of the door. The tongue and groove construction will preventJ leakage or passage of hot air, gases or smoke between the sections I0 and II. Since this construction also substantially lessens the overall warpage of the door, little or no leakage of hot air, gases or smoke will occur around the periphery of the door.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of our invention.

We claim:

l. An integral structural unit forming a door or panel, said unit comprising a core of inorganic, rigid, fire-proof, light weight material of a substantially uniform apparent density and consistency throughout, said core consisting of a plurality of articulated sections in the form of individual strips extending across said core and joined edge-to-edge, the adjoining edge surfaces thereof being formed with interlocking tongues and grooves fitted together and approximately in contact throughout their surface areas and forming an interlocking connection between the strips permitting a relative hinging movement of said strips when exposed to the warping action of excessive heat or re applied to one surface only of said body while maintaining a substantially tight seal between the strips and preventing the leakage of air or gases therebetween when such relative movement occurs, said unit including a frame of material treated with a vnre-proofing agent comprising members extending along the marginal edges of said core, said edges -being flat and abutting said members, and adhesive material covering said marginal edges and bonding together the entire adjoining surfaces of said members, and a veneer covering and adhered to one major surface of the said core and frame and forming a nished surface.

2. The unit defined in claim 1, said unit including a second veneer covering and adhered to the other major surface of the said core and frame, whereby the said frame and one veneer hold the unit intact when the veneer on the opposite side of the unit is exposed to heat and flames by which it is burned away. v

3. The unit set forth in claim l, the material forming said' core consisting of a hydrous calcium silicate.

4. An integral structural unit forming a door or panel, said unit comprising a core of inorganic, rigid, f1reproof,lightweight material o f substantially uniform apparent density and contongues and groovesfitted together and approximately in contact throughout their surface areas thereby forming aninterlocking connection between the strips permitting a relative hinging movement of said strips when exposed to the warping action of excessive heat or fire applied to one surface only 'of said body while maintaining a substantiallytight seal between the strips andpreventing thaleakage of air or gases therebetween when such relative movement occurs,

said unit including .restraining means by which l5 the said strips are rigidly held against relative movement, the restraining means comprisingmaterial destructible byhigh temperature, whereby the restrainmgflaction is lost by extended exposure of the unit tolexcessive heat or fire, the 2 said restraining measconsisting of a frame extending along the marginal edges of the core and rigidly united to said core, and a veneer adhered to and covering one major surface of the said 2 core and frame. Y

A5. The unit deiined in claim 4, said unit including a secondveneer adhered to and covering the other majorrsurface of the said core and frame, whereby the first mentioned veneer holds the unit intact when the veneer on the opposite side of the unit is destroyed by the heat and flames to which it is exposed.

6. The unit set forth in claim 4, the material forming said core consisting of a hydrous calcium silicate.

7. The unit set forth in claim 4, said veneer being of a material subject to disintegration under applied high temperatures.

8. An integral structural unit forming a door or panel, said unit comprising a core of inorganic, rigid, nre-proof, light-weight material of substantially uniform apparent density and consistency throughout, said core consisting of a plurality of articulated sections in the form of strips joined edge-to-edge, the said strips having 45 an interlocking connection between the strips 50 104,980

permitting a relative hinging movement of said strips when exposed .to the warping action of excessive heat or re applied to one surface only of said body while maintaining a substantially tight seal between the strips and preventing the leakage of air or gases therebetween when such relative movement occurs, said unit including restraining means by which the said strips are rigidly held against relative movement, the restraining means comprising material destructible by high temperature whereby the restraining action is lost .by extended exposure of the unit l to excessive heat or fire, the said restraining means consisting of a frame extending along the marginal edges of the core and united to said core, and a veneer covering and adhered to one major surface of the said core.

9. The unit dened in claim 8, said unit including a second veneer adhered to and covering the 0 other major surface of the said core, whereby the said` one veneer holds the unit intact when the veneer on the opposite side of the unit is removed by the heat and flames to which it is exposed.

10. The unit set forth in claim 8, the material forming said core consisting of a hydrous calcium silicate.

11. l'I'he unit set forth in claim 8, said frameV REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of` this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Y Number Name Date 826,549 Diver July 24, 1906 1,590,132 TeitSWOrth June 22, 1926 1,875,888 Richardson Sept. 6, 1932 1,919,702 Murphy July 25, 1933 2,157,622 Neesen et al. May 9, 1939 2,173,808 Kellogg Sept. 19, 1939 2,354,725 Weyerhaeuser Aug. 1, 1944 2,469,379 Fraser May 10, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date weden, f.,.=.-.f. .19%2. 

